Plastic bottles, such as polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter named “PET”) bottles, are used in a large quantity as a container for holding refreshing drinks, seasoners, or the like. These containers have a constant volume regardless of whether the containers are empty or filled with a drink, and need a big space for storage or transportation. Since the efficiency of storage and transportation is not good, storing or transporting the containers is costly. The containers are bulky at disposal, and a disposal process is not only time consuming, but also pollutes the environment.
Japanese Open Gazette No. 8-72844 and Japanese Open Gazette No. 2002-326620 disclose containers having a bellows barrel body. Such contains are contracted during transportation or at disposal. However, the container, if filled with content, is unable to maintain the container volume thereof because the bellows barrel body is extendable. For example, if the container is lifted, the barrel portion is extended by the weight of the container and the content thereof. It is thus difficult to maintain the container to a fixed shape. The barrel portion is tilted or bent, and the container is unable to stand upright alone.
Japanese Open Gazette No. 9-156625 proposes a PET bottle. A reinforcement assembly is attached to the PET bottle to prevent a bellows barrel portion thereof from being bent.
The reinforcement assembly includes an upper ring member, a lower ring member, and a plurality of bands or strings, having no fixed shape. The upper and lower ring members are received in an upper groove and a lower groove arranged on the barrel portion with the bands extended between the upper and lower rings. The container is thus complex in structure with the grooves having a particular shape. It takes time to fit the ring members. The container has room for improvements.
The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-referenced drawback. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container that has a bellows barrel portion, maintains a fixed shape, and is reduced in size with the longitudinal length thereof contracted during transportation or storage, or at disposal.